Storm Drain Marking with Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory

TTF’s Philly Team hosted a Storm Drain Marking event with the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory and students in their RiverGuides program on Friday, October 14th. We began our event by testing their knowledge, followed by a quick lesson about watersheds through our Watershed Heroes presentation. The students learned what a watershed is, how many watersheds are in the city, and what the city is doing to protect their watersheds through the Green City, Clean Waters initiative, as well as how we can protect our waterways through storm drain marking.

We then hit the streets in our lower Frankford neighborhood and gave a demonstration on how to mark a storm drain. We marked 25 drains along Torresdale Avenue as well as Worth Street, and the blocks between those streets. Students went home with a free reusable shopping bag marked with the great blue heron, our watershed mascot, as well as the TTF logo and the TD Charitable Foundation logo, which makes this effort possible!

Curbside storm drains are one way that trash and other harmful chemicals can enter Tacony Creek in our city and Tookany Creek upstream, whether it’s washed in by the rain or intentionally dumped there. Marking storm drains reminds people that only rain should go down the drain! It’s also an effective way to protect our creek in a hands-on way. We had a lot of fun marking the storm drains, and community members were happy to see TTF and young people out in the neighborhood, making an effort to keep our environment safe and clean.

Julie Slavet is TTF's Executive Director. She has over 20 years of experience in community affairs, program development, and personnel management. Julie earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Smith College and an M.S. in Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts. Julie has served as an Advisor to the Jenkintown Community Alliance and a Director of the Montgomery County Democratic Women’s Leadership Initiative. Contact Julie at 215.844.8100 or julie@ttfwatershed.org.